The parcel of land just west of the Veterans Expressway acts as a noise buffer between the airport and the Dana Shores area.
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Tampa, Florida -- A major victory for hundreds of families in Dana Shores who were worried about an indoor sports complex going up on airport property near their homes.
The parcel of land just west of the Veterans Expressway acts as a noise buffer between the airport and the Dana Shores area.
The former owner of the Tampa Bay Storm Bob Gries wanted to build the facility for amateur traveling sports. Gries, whose daughter is a big time volleyball player, said he would pay for construction of the facility.
However, people who lived in Dana Shores were concerned that not only would their buffer be gone, but also increased traffic would interfere with the people who use the adjacent football and baseball fields.
In addition, there is an FAA requirement that prohibits building a school within 5,000 feet of a runway and the sports complex, which would be filled with kids on the weekend, is within that distance.
However, children would be in the sports complex because it wasn't a school, the FAA prohibition wouldn't kick in.
Even though FAA staff recommended against selling the parcel to anyone, there was concern that political pressure was mounting make the deal come together.
Gries says he is now interested in other parcels of land the Aviation Authority is interested in developing for commercial use. He says the sports complex would bring tourists to the area on the weekends and benefit the airport, the Westshore hotels and restaurants in the area.
While Gries was interested in the Dana Shores property, he says he wanted to be a good community citizen and didn't want to cause concern for the people who live there.
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